Radioactive Hell
by Death300043
Summary: After the Doom Slayer stopped the Hell invasion on Mars and was betrayed by Hayden, he finds himself in a brand-new world. Where instead of demons bringing about the apocalypse-it's humanity themselves. Time to rip n' tear. (since there's no NSFW it will instead be rated T)
1. Radioactive Hell

**The Doom Slayer-U.A.C Mars Facility**

I watched helpless in the invisible bounds as the fucking cyborg Hayden took The Crucible and rambled on and on about how he could continue his work, I only half-payed attention. I pulled and struggled against the energy that kept me still, to my increasing rage and frustration the binds didn't budge. I hated this feeling of helplessness with every fiber of my being.

Hayden continued his bullshit, "I am not the villain in this story. I do what I do because there is no choice…" Just then a feminine voice on the intercom spoke.

"**Rerouting tether coordinates complete!**" I struggled and pulled more as I realized that Hayden planned on sending me back to Hell. Although it didn't matter much in the long run, he was going to open up another portal sooner or later, and I was going to go back through that portal and kick his metallic ass when it happens.

I scowled under my helmet as Hayden continued to speak. "Our time is up. I can't kill you_-Damn right you can't-_but I won't have you standing in our way." He activated The Crucible, like he even knew how to use it properly. The tether display in my visor lit up as Hayden continued to speak, "Until we see each other again…" He began to walk off as I felt the tether activate and blue overtake my vision…

**The Doom Slayer-The Glowing Sea**

The tethering device felt the same as it did the last few times, like being stabbed with hundreds of red-hot needles all over your body in the span of a millisecond. Although it was over in just a few seconds.

I was unceremoniously dumped onto hard concrete and could hear wind whistling and thunder booming all around me. I rolled over onto my back and stared at the...green sky?...strange. I've been to most if not _all_ the regions and versions of Hell, a green sky was new to me. No matter, it became apparent I was in a new version of hell as I sat up and looked around me. I was surrounded by ruins, piles of charred concrete and twisted rebar, equally charred human skeletons clutching other human skeletons sitting against one semi-intact wall to my left. I stood up and walked out of the ruined structure to get my bearings in this new Hell.

The ruins sat atop a cliff overlooking the wasteland that would become my new stomping grounds for maybe the next few hundred years. Lightning flashed and spasmed every few seconds, the wind whistled through the ruins, ther-

_**STOMP, STOMP, STOMP**_

My thoughts were interrupted by the stomping of what I could only assume was a demon far below me at the base of the cliff. Squelching and tearing sounds rose up from the ground below as the demon tore into a carcass it had been dragging with its claws. I leaped over the edge onto the demon's head. Its hunched position made it so my full weight crashed upon its head and pushed downwards onto the blood-smeared ground. Its jaw made a sickening **crunch **sound as it made contact with a rock.

In pain and surprise, the demon shook me off from its head and turned to face me. It made a pathetic attempt to intimidate me with a roar but failed miserably with its broken jaw which hung down limply and dripped blood.

The demon's gaping maw made the perfect target for one of my favorite weapons. I pulled out the gauss cannon and tried to take aim but had to throw myself backward as the demon tried to swipe at me with its claws.

'_You have lost knee privileges_' I fired a shot into the armored knee of the demon, the steel flechette easily piercing the armor and going straight through, shattering the bone and embedding itself in a rock. Causing the demon to roar pathetically and fall onto its slashing arms. Smirking under my visor, I equipped siege mode and took aim into its mouth. The charged flechette went straight through its brain and out into the sky killing it instantly.

'_What a shame, I didn't get to glory kill it…_' I thought to myself. I walked up to the demon and inspected it while I had this little bit of quiet before I'll inevitably be rushed by twenty imps at once. After all, it's always important to know your enemy, especially if they're new.

The demon was large, if its legs could straighten and it stood on its hind legs it could easily reach the height of a Baron of Hell. If it wasn't permanently hunched-over it could stand even taller. Although its immense height, it had a relatively light build. Armor and muscle were placed evenly along the limbs. The back and spine of the demon was heavily armored and covered in spikes.

'_Hmmm...this one will be annoyi-aha!_' I thought to myself as I flipped the demon over and saw its weaker underbelly. I guessed the weaker scales here could easily be pierced by the .50 caliber rounds of my heavy assault rifle, as well as anything stronger. It had a weak spot, every demon has a weak spot.

'_Hmmm...it's getting...darker? Huh, I guess this Hell has some pattern..?_' The landscape was rapidly darkening. That was fine, I needed to move on anyway.

I started traveling West, my visor's compass guiding me. I walked over, through, and around ruins encountering many human and animal bones alike along the way, nothing new. There were pink creatures the size of dogs who could dig and used that to flank me. They died easily with the EMG pistol. I was inspecting a partially sunken and destroyed skyscraper in the distance when my helmet's speakers crackled to life out of nowhere. Static filled my ears and surprisingly, the voice of an old friend...although heavily distorted.

**=Attemmmmp-ting rebooooooOOOot...fAilEd!= =InsuFficient poooOowWEr!= =AttemmPTing To FiNd AllllterNate SouRRRRce...Success!= =Alternate source found.= =Attempting reboot…complete!= =System operating at three-percent efficiency.= =Rebooting personality core…complete!= **

"**Hello. I am VEGA, the sentient intelligence assigned to Mars.**"

It was nice to hear from VEGA, he didn't deserve to die for that prick Hayden. Not to mention he sacrificed himself in order to stop the invasion without even _mentioning_ the backup chip. That's selflessness for a greater good.

"**Normally, your suit's systems aren't complex enough to support me, Slayer. Although I managed to speak to you now by temporarily decommissioning my secondary and tertiary processors to inform you that I've detected a power source that could potentially support me. I've marked it on your HUD.**"

The mark was close, just a few hundred yards to my right. Since I had no pressing concerns and VEGA was useful to me I went to check it out. Just a few minutes later I found the mark in the form of an extremely old shack…


	2. 40 Percent Functional

**The Doom Slayer-Abandoned Shack**

This was strange, everything about this was strange. Demons don't construct buildings most _can't_. This should be impossible, this shack shouldn't be here. The only solution that makes sense is that it was teleported here. Although I had a feeling...that I'm not where I think I am.

I entered the shack, ignoring the radioactive waste barrels and the warning signs out front, onto the porch, and through the door. The floor creaked and groaned under my immense weight, a skeleton wearing a tarnished lab coat lay on the floor near a rusted trapdoor, which was where the mark was.

I tried the door, locked.

'_Yeah, ok, whatever…_' I wrapped my hand around the handle and pulled, the frame broke around the lock and the door flew open. Inside was a ladder leading to a basement of sorts. I dropped down and entered a sort of locker room/front desk area. A skeleton wearing army fatigues was sprawled in a chair behind the desk, I ignored it and proceeded further into the basement.

"**I would advise you to be vigilant, Slayer. My primary processors detect that this space is much larger on the inside, as well as detecting movement and active energy signatures further down. Possibly hostile.**" VEGA said in an indifferent tone.

I silently nodded and took out my combat shotgun.

"**Furthermore, I ask you to please be more precise. Any computer capable of supporting me needs to be damaged as little as possible.**" I scowled from behind my visor.

'_Ugh, fine. Only because I respect you. Consider yourself lucky, VEGA…_' I took out my heavy assault rifle and attached the tactical scope. It's pretty much useless compared to the mini-rockets but it's 'precise' to an extent.

Shortly after walking down some steps further in the basement, I saw a sparking breaker switch on the wall next to a doorway which lead into an inky black abyss. Me being me…

'_The fuck does this do?_' I flipped the switch up and electric lights inside the abyss lit up with a dull **clunk**.

"**Energy readings just skyrocketed. It seems as if you just activated this facility.**" VEGA stated. I walked in, seeing semi-clean white walls, floors, and ceilings that reminded me too much of the U.A.C base on Mars.

I walked out onto a steel catwalk and admired the view, a massive bunker stretched out before and below me, tarnished only by the crates and filth scattered about. Then a robotic voice that was _definitely not_ VEGA spoke to my right.

"**Movement detected.**" It said in a deep voice. I came under fire by blue lasers coming from every direction. Although they did little, they did make the surface of the Praetor suit spark and crackle when they hit and that felt weird.

I raised my heavy assault rifle and fired a few test shots, the .50 caliber rounds slammed into a robot's torso and tore through plastic skin, exposing a metallic skeleton and wires underneath. The robot let off a few sparks and distorted failure warnings before falling to the floor and 'dying'.

'_Well that was underwhelming, here's hoping they're not all made out of paper…_' I scoped in on a couple of armored robots on the opposite catwalk and let off several bursts of bullets. The armor held...for a few shots, but quickly broke apart and exposed the vulnerable 'skin' to my bullets and they fell just as easily as the first robot. Some stray bullets went into a computer console behind them, if VEGA's watching right now, he's probably cringing.

I saw a crowd of the fuckers milling about at the bottom and firing up at me. I vaulted over the guardrail, falling towards a more skeletal one. I dropped full-force onto it and crushed its metallic skull under my boot like a tin can. It 'died' instantly.

The other robots continued to strafe around me while firing relentlessly. They knew no fear and had a single-minded purpose to eradicate me.

They would fail.

I fired at a robot closest to me, the .50 caliber rounds turning its insides into all-over-the-place-sides. Although a few bullets made it all the way through and hit an active console that was buzzing out numbers. VEGA spoke up again.

"**I am once again asking for you to **_**please**_ **be more careful. It is of great importance to both of us that I get out of your suit and into a proper computer.**"

'_Come on, VEGA, you're just being annoying now_…'

Welp, fuck it. VEGA wants me to be more precise what's more precise then getting up-close with your _fucking fists_? I put away my heavy assault rifle and charged at the two other robots behind cover with my gauntlets raised.

I leaped over a crate and destroyed the first robot, a skeletal one, Its metallic skull was crushed into pieces under my unrelenting blows. I turned to another to my left, it had no armor but was covered in plastic skin. I charged up to it and ripped its arms off, then I took hold of its torso and launched it into an armored robot sneaking up behind me. The armless robot dying of power failure and the armored robot being temporarily disabled, strange.

It hardly mattered to me, though. Now, what did VEGA want?

"**Threats cleared. Now, I have a few more things to ask of you before you can continue. It's an easy one, just find a port. Don't worry about the chip fitting, U.A.C Data Chips are capable of modifying their shape to fit into different ports.**"

'_Mighty fuckin' convenient_' It only took a few moments before I found a large monitor and an active console with a port, the place was full of the things. I unceremoniously shoved the chip inside and waited...and waited...VEGA was out of my suit and couldn't talk to me anymore. The chip sparked in the port...Oh fuck...I think I broke it.

Suddenly and thankfully the console lights blinked and the monitor lit up with VEGA's logo. It wasn't too long before every undamaged, active monitor had VEGA's logo on it. Whether in black and white or green text. His voice boomed from all around the bunker, still in the polite robotic tone.

"**Overall** **systems operating at 40% efficiency. Primary processors operating at 100% efficiency. Secondary processors operating at 23% efficiency. Tertiary processors operating at 12% efficiency. Oh...This is much better. Still a step down from the Mars facility, but it's better than your suit.**" VEGA said, I didn't really pay attention, but he seemed to be enjoying himself.

VEGA continued, that was fine, we didn't have anywhere we needed to be. "**However this facility is extremely damaged and will need outside help to get it in working order...and I suspect **_**you**_ **don't want to remain for repairs?**" He has me there. "**So I've been scanning the robots while we were...**_**I**_ _**was**_ **talking, it seems as if they have a port on the back of their necks. I've already downloaded myself from the chip into this facility. Although putting the chip in one of them would give me an uplink to control it. The armored robot behind you will reboot in three minutes. Please do this.**" VEGA said in an almost...pleading tone.

I nodded once, grabbing the chip out of the console and walking over to the robot in question. Throwing its armless brethren out of the way and flipping it onto its back. The nape of the neck was covered in synthetic armor, but it was as good as styrofoam as I ripped it apart.

Once again I shoved the chip into the port and waited for it to adapt...sparks flew, the robot let out several distorted cries and warnings, then suddenly, silence. The robot slowly stood up. VEGA spoke again, coming from all around the bunker and the robot.

"**The U.A.C planned to experiment with giving their AIs physical bodies, but it wasn't a priority and the invasion got in the way. I had prepared myself far in advance for such an occasion of getting a physical form, I vividly remember it. Although the preparations didn't survive my termination, the memories did. In other words, it's going to be a little while before I'm used to this.**" Yeah, me too. It was weird seeing VEGA in a body. I'm used to his voice coming out of the walls or my helmet. But hey, it's also pretty cool. VEGA continued. "**Anyway, I'm currently analyzing any and all information I come across in this facility's database and...I've got some explaining to do.**" This caught my attention.

"**First. We are not in Hell.**"


	3. Decision

the decision has been made. This story will move back to the Doom/fallout section and that's where it will remain.


	4. Less Radioactive Pastures

**Oh god oh fuck, the responsibility is kicking in! Thanks for the follows, the favs, and the reviews! -D3K43**

* * *

**[40 minutes later]**

**The Doom Slayer-Abandoned Shack Surface Level**

I looked out onto the desolate radioactive wasteland...of Earth. It had been a shock at first. Not in hell, on Earth. An Earth plagued with radiation storms and a massive portion of land that's constantly radioactive, with mutated abominations prowling about, looking for prey. VEGA had told me of how America and China blew each other to kingdom come along with everyone else who was on each other's shit lists, how for a few decades the world was complete anarchy, how the mutant abominations came to exist, and how we were sitting just a few miles North of the Ground Zero for a nuke that was headed for Boston.

For a long time I had thought that nothing less than hellspawn could achieve this level of destruction, of devastation, of _death_. Humans, while not the same ones I had tried to protect, had destroyed themselves anyways despite never setting foot on Mars to discover Argent Energy and later, Hell.

Although, that wasn't particularly true. VEGA said that there are signs of civilization far north of the bunker. Mainly radio waves that he couldn't decipher due to distance and lack of active radio towers. He said it's extremely likely that there are still humans left, I'm inclined to believe him. So I'm leaving, VEGA will be uplinked into my helmet, his physical body stayed behind to get the bunker in working order. I stayed until VEGA set up rudimentary defenses in the form of turrets, and then took an elevator going straight to the surface.

It was a lot to take in, but I'm strong, I'm capable, I'm adaptable. I'm _The_ _Doom Slayer_. An unbreakable, incorruptible, unyielding tormentor of the forces of _Hell_. I think I'll make it through.

I turned North making sure all my weapons were loaded and walked off to less radioactive pastures.

* * *

**The Doom Slayer-Federal Supply Cache 84NE**

It was more North-East, actually. Not like I cared. As I was walking along I suddenly noticed a dip in the land, and as I was focused on the land ahead of me, I didn't notice the sudden drop. Only about eight feet, I fell in front of the entrance to a bunker built into the land. Curious, I walked up to the door when I noticed a trembling in the ground below my boots. Suddenly a giant scorpion burst out of the land a few yards to my right. It milled about, having not noticed me.

"**Local files tell me this creature is what's known as a **_**Radscorpion**_**...highly venomous and radioactive creatures capable of extreme damage in a short amount of time. This type has been named the **_**Deathskull**_ **Radscorpion. Stronger, faster, smarter, and more durable than their brethren. A weak point on its face has been identified. Eliminate with extreme prejudice.**" VEGA beeped in my ear.

'_Noted. Bring it on, you arachnid fuck_.' I thought to myself while a challenging smile grew on my face.

I brought out my combat shotgun and racked the forestock, drawing the Deathskull's attention. It quickly scuttled its legs to face me, as soon as I saw its black orbs for eyes I fired an explosive shot. It gave off a high-pitched, warbled scream as the explosion charred its face and blinded it. I racked another shell in and quickly dodged to the right as it charged towards me while swinging its massive claws in quick, sideways arcs. I fired another explosive shot into its side, the Radscorpion fell onto its belly for a second before quickly getting up again, I was slightly disappointed when I saw that the explosive shot had only slightly damaged its carapace and legs, largely charring them more than anything else. The gauss cannon could probably penetrate its armor, but it was moving too quick and wasn't giving me an opportunity to charge up a shot, and there was no way in Hell that I was gonna waste a BFG shot on this thing, no matter how annoying it is. The Deathskull charged me again, I dodged to the left, seeing its tail surge forward and imbed itself into a rock behind where I was standing. Then I got an idea. Taking advantage of its vulnerable position, I lept onto its back where the claws couldn't reach me and grasped its tail. Its warbles of surprise soon turned to pain as I pulled as hard as I could on the tail. Pain turned to agony as it desperately tried to shake me off while the tip of the tail was still embedded. Eventually the softer carapace started to tear, and soon the muscles as well. The tip came out of the rock, the base off the Radscorpion, and the whole thing in my grip.

The stump bled profusely as the Radscorpion thrashed and scuttled about, warbling in agony. I had tossed the tail away and was now watching this display. Suddenly the Radscorpion dove into the ground, digging with its claws, it was running away.

Normally I wouldn't let _anything_ run away from me, but I couldn't follow it into a hole and it wasn't even a demon so what was the point? I walked back up to the door seeing that it had a magnetic lock.

"**The terminal next to the door is active, I could remotely hack it from here to unlock the door but that might take a few minutes.**" VEGA beeped from inside my helmet, a little display in my visor outlined said terminal.

'_Fuck that_.' I thought to myself as I took out my gauss cannon and charged it up in siege mode, aiming at the lock and releasing the trigger.

The lock was destroyed as the flechette went straight through, melting the metal and carving a path as it went. The lock was largely destroyed so I kicked it open all the way, destroying lock further, and walked inside.

Inside was a console not unlike the ones in the bunker, it was completely inactive and VEGA didn't ping me about it so I took it that he wasn't interested either.

It was all pretty standard stuff for a bunker, some beds, some consoles, robots kept in capsules that I didn't care about. I did loot some .50 caliber ammunition and shotgun shells for their respective weapons by breaking into a locked gun cage, though. Also something VEGA labeled as a 'Nuka Grenade' A small, portable nuclear device in grenade form. I decided to keep it on me.

It was over and I was out of there in just a few minutes. I walked outside when I noticed a _very_ familiar rumbling underground. Suddenly, a few yards in front of me, three Radscorpions burst out of the ground, one of them was noticeably bigger and had a charred carapace with a missing tail…

The Deathskull had come back, and it brought friends. Two other Radscorpions, smaller than the Deathskull, with less armored carapaces.

They were in a small group, all bunched up. I got an idea. I took out the Nuka Grenade and spent a few seconds figuring out its pin mechanism, once I got it I pulled the pin and threw it at the group of Radscorpions.

Anticlimactically, it bounced off one of their carapaces and onto the ground...before detonating in a massive mushroom cloud of an explosion. I was too close, being thrown back by the shockwave and feeling the heat. My footing was strong though and I didn't fall over.

Once the cloud and the dust cleared up, it became clear that the one closest was incinerated by the blast, the one farthest being blown farther away, and out of sight. In the middle of it all was the Deathskull. Its carapace had been scorched, left legs crippled, the heat permanently blinded it, one of its claws was missing. I almost felt sorry for the damn thing when I walked, hearing it warble pathetically, and making futile attempts to scuttle away from me with its twisted and burnt legs. I walked up to its burnt side and crouched down, inspecting its spiked and burned carapace, remembering the Hell Guards, I smiled and gripped the edge, pulling it off the body. It came off easier than expected, I tossed it aside and took a look at the Radscopion's insides. Deciding to end its misery, I tossed in one of my grenades and walked off.

I turned further north, towards the clearer horizon…

**The Minute Men rise from ashes with a new General in Sanctuary...**


	5. Announcement

New chapter 'Clear Sky' will go up whenever I wake up tomorrow


	6. Clear Sky

**Mend1cant Bias- I realize that now, although I'm not gonna change it because it's not a priority.**

**Note: This is loosely based on my playthroughs of Fallout 4 -D3K43**

* * *

**Clear Sky**

**The Doom Slayer**

I walked through the increasingly less destroyed remains of this Earth, over old bones and around carcasses of cars. Eventually the charred trees got bigger and bigger, less bent and burned. My geiger counter ticked down to nothing, I saw a clear blue sky above me...it had been too long since I'd seen such a thing. I wouldn't say that VEGA spoiled the moment, but I _did _want to bask a bit longer.

"**I am detecting several life signals nearby, just North of your position. Several human signatures, as well as something akin to possessed human signatures, I can not determine what they are at this time.**" That was fine. A bit more than I needed to hear, if there were possessed humans, there were demons not far behind. I brought out my combat shotgun and sprinted at inhuman speeds towards the ruins far ahead of me.

* * *

**The Doom Slayer-Natick Banks**

It wasn't long before I heard a very familiar roaring and the crackle of gunfire inside the ruined town. Nets of gore hung down from sharpened steel girders surrounding the town, rusted iron cages with human bones inside were stacked up high. It was all too similar to demonic intimidation tactics, although there weren't any runes anywhere, which was strange.

As I was about to step inside a destroyed scrap gate, a humanoid form was flung into a stack of cages to my left, it was large, standing a little taller than me, with green skin, covered in cloth, bound with chains as armor. It let out a war cry as it picked up a handmade rifle off the ground and was about to charge back into battle when it noticed me.

It furiously pointed to itself with one disfigured finger and screamed at the top of its lungs in a guttural cry.

"THIS IS WHAT DEATH LOOKS LIKE UP CLOSE!"

_**BLAM BLAM BLAM!**_

Before it even leveled its rifle to me I had already put three shells of buckshot into its torso with burst fire, turning its ribcage into shrapnel that tore apart its inner organs, killing it instantly.

"**Interesting, it would seem as if this was a human at one point, yet it was under the influence of something else to turn it into this. As operating power is limited and some files are still locked, I do not know what this particular creature is.**" VEGA stated, I didn't really listen though, instead I charged towards the nearest battle, intent on seeing what was strong enough to launch the green guy.

Gunfire and guttural cries of combatants surrounded me as I charged through the rubble, burning corpses and unrecognizable chunks of flesh littered the ground, bullet casings crunched and slid out from under my boots, distant explosions rocked the land, chaos all around.

I soon emerged into a plaza area, where the majority of the fighting was happening. There was a group of humans, wearing lots of leather studded with bits of metal all over their bodies as armor. They were bruised and battered, yet fighting with the green guys ferociously. The green guys had the high ground, and numbers on their side. Taking pot-shots from roofs at the humans with rifles, green dog-like creatures charging the humans, creating a deadly melee battle.

I took out my heavy assault rifle, letting a volley of micro-missiles fly towards some rooftop gunners turning two of them into mincemeat. Turning back to the plaza, I saw one of the green guys charge towards me with a football-sized beeping device under its arm.

"THIS IS NO GAME, HUMAN!" It screamed as it sprinted towards me.

'_Heh._ _Maybe not for you, but I'm having fun._' I switched to the tactical scope and experimentally fired at the device, which exploded into a mushroom cloud similar to the Nuka grenade, only bigger. The green guy was annihilated in the blast. Chunks of it and blood rained from the sky coating my armor and the surrounding area, the gunfire continued.

Dashing towards one of the dog-like creatures, who was busy tearing into a soon to be dead human, with my chainsaw out and roaring louder than it. I raised it up high and swung the blade down right onto the creature's back. The teeth tore into flesh and bone while the creature roared in agony until its lungs were eviscerated shortly after its spine.

'_Goddamnit, that'll be a real pain in my ass…_' Bullets pinged off my armor. Some getting lodged in between plates, I'd have to pick them out later.

After eliminating the rooftop gunners with the tactical scope I turned back towards the plaza just in time to see a green guy fly backwards through the air, getting impaled on barricades of sharpened rebar.

_**RRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRR!**_

The ground shook, glass rattled, dust flew, both hearts and jaws dropped, the fighting stilled as both sides stood mouths agape in horror as a pale white monster with blood-red eyes made its presence known as it smashed through a scrap wall, a green guy hanging in its jaws. It wasn't unlike the creature I encountered in The Glowing Sea, only bigger, more armored, more muscles, and sharper claws.

"**Interesting. It would appear that this is the **_**Albino**_ **version of the 'Deathclaw' species I've been seeing so much of in files.**" VEGA said through my helmet, it almost brought a smile to my face as he just wrote it off as if it wasn't staring right at me. The Deathclaw emitted a powerful aura of rage, brutality, and malice…

It's a good thing I do too...

For several, agonizing seconds, no one did anything but stare at one another. The Deathclaw and I sized each other up, it undoubtedly felt my aura as I felt it. However I was determined to get the first shot in, so I switched to my rocket launcher, unleashing Hell onto it.

I watched the rockets soar through the air towards their target. To the Deathclaw's credit, though, it easily dodged with the speed and elegance of a Summoner. It zigzagged around the rockets at a dizzying pace, meanwhile, the sides got out of their stupor and began focusing fire on the Deathclaw, although doing little to it.

The Deathclaw sprinted towards me on its hind legs, slashing arms poised to strike. Most of the buckshot from my combat shotgun did little but lodge themselves into its scales, all the rest bounced or ricocheted off thicker armor.

As the Deathclaw got ever closer, preparing to slash at me with its right hand, I took out my chainsaw, or rather the _Mixom Beavertooth Painsaw_, intending to saw its damn legs off. The engine roared as I swung it in a wide arc.

**-Insufficient Fuel-**

'_Shit._' The left side of my torso exploded into pain when the Deathclaw's hand scraped and slashed at my suit. I was tossed to the right due to the sheer force behind the swipe and through an ancient brick wall into what was probably an apartment. Seeing the Deathclaw busy with the fighting sides, eviscerating some green guys, I looked slightly around the room to get my bearings, my eyes landing on the terrified expression of a woman in a blue jumpsuit. She gave a small friendly wave and a nervous smile even though there was a poorly concealed hand moving towards a pistol, she was just scared of the armored guy that smashed through the wall, I get it.

After removing myself from the rubble and getting back out onto the street, I checked myself for siphon grenades, they'd be able to repair my scratched and partially damaged armor... I only have a few left.

Preparing to throw one, I charged up my EMG pistol, releasing the charged plasma gel onto the back of the Deathclaw's head.

_**Rrrrr?**_

As I hoped for, the Deathclaw turned to face me with its maw opened in preparation for a roar, I threw the siphon at that moment, smirking as it was gulped up by the Deathclaw whose eyes opened in surprise.

The Deathclaw was still for a moment, then violently convulsed as the grenade activated halfway down its throat, rapidly sucking the energy out of it. By the time the scratches and dents on my suit had been repaired the Deathclaw had already collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Even after the grenade had run its course, the Deathclaw made no attempt to get up or attack but was still breathing. I no longer felt any rage or brutality coming from it. VEGA noticed, too.

"**After analyzing the body language, brain waves, and breathing patterns of this creature, as well as files regarding their behavior and habits I can say with confidence that it has submitted to you as a stronger being. It knows you have the power to kill it and has accepted that fact.**" Interesting...my last pet was a lot smaller, and softer.

Looking up, I noticed the gunfire had stopped. It seems the green guys retreated or were all dead. Also there were about twelve humans walking up to me, they had their guns to their sides, some held them casually with one hand by the barrel. One of them, clearly the leader, wore a huge suit of armor made of scrap metal, pipes, and rebar. In some places a hydraulic system and metallic skeleton could be seen bast the armor plating. It was clearly some sort of…

"**That human is wearing a suit of customized T-60 **_**Power Armor.**_" VEGA spoke, _rudely_ interrupting my thoughts, but yeah, _Power Armor_. He quickly approached me.

"Heyyy man! Thanks for the assist, them Greenies gave us a run for our money! And for takin' care of Big Ugly here!" He laughed as he set an armored palm on the Deathclaw's lowered forehead, only to quickly retract his gauntlet when its jaws snapped up. "Holy shit!" He screamed, panicked, although sloppily regained his composure and shot me a shit-eating grin that I hated. "Uhhh, you didn't finish this one, man. Where's my gun? Someone grab my gun!" He barked at the gang behind him.

A woman wearing baseball armor came up behind him and produced a double-barrel shotgun, it was pretty standard, nothing like what _I_ was packing. He smirked as he leveled the barrels to the Deathclaw's forehead. Before he could fire I wrenched the gun out of his grip and tossed it away. It might've been a bad decision in the long-run...not like I cared.

The gang gasped in horror, watching us with bated breath. His face contorted through several different emotions, shock, anger-which turned to rage, before settling on challenge with a sinister smile.

"Ooooohhh I get it! You're one of them...of themmm..._Tamers_! Yeah! They can tame all the nasty shit in the wasteland! I heard of some fucker way out West who had a pet Deathclaw, and a pack of something called Nightstalkers workin' for him! That's sick as fuck!" He laughed, his gang joining in with similar grins on their faces. Some of them whispering amongst each other.

"Listen man, you come over to the motel, over yonder," He pointed with a thumb over his shoulder. "We can get you set up with a spot in our happy little group here," He gestured to the gang around him. "The name's Bastion, but you just might be callin' me Boss." Bastion held out his hand for a shake. Still wearing that shitty grin.

'_Nah, I think I'm done taking orders from things that have or did have a pulse._' I shook my head.

Bastion's smile faded. "That's a damn shame. Heh, I was hoping I could buy that armor off you, or maybe trade for it with something, but it seems like I'll just have to _take it_!" He said with a sinister chuckle. The rest of the gang erupted into hyena-like laughter.

'_You're making a huge mistake_.' I thought to myself as I selected what weapon I should use. '_The Super Shotgun might shut this fucker up…_'.

"Last chance, fucker. We outnumber you ten to one! Surrender your shit or it'll get stained with your blood, and I'll piss on your corpse!" He screamed while laughing.

Before Bastion even had time to react, I took out my super shotgun and fired both barrels into his head and torso. The uranium-coated pellets piercing his scrap armor and turning his body inside to mush. Usually I'm opposed to killing humans, but they're clearly hostile and I'm not exactly built or willing to pacify.

They reminded me of Imps as they rushed me without any coordination or plan. Actually no, Imps have teamwork and finesse. Their bullets harmlessly ricocheted off and their melee attacks either bent or broke on my Praetor suit. I almost felt bad as they tried their hardest to kill me, only to get cut down by my ludicrously overpowered shotgun. Eventually the Deathclaw felt strong enough to get up and slash at the few not fast or smart enough to keep their distance from the seven-ton murder machine that is that oversized gecko.

Soon, the plaza was littered with even more corpses before, the Deathclaw was more than happy to devour them. I don't think he's necessarily evil for eating humans...just an animal, I think I'll name him..._Lacerta_...it's fitting.

So I was just going body-to-body looting anything that was useful before Lacerta tore them apart, grenades, shotgun shells, that sort of thing. Although as I kept running around the field I felt a feeling I hadn't felt in a _long_ time…

I felt tired.

Fatigued, exhausted, drowsy, weary. However you wanted to put it. I think it's becau-

"**I'm noticing a steady decline in your cognitive functions, and higher blood pressure, telltale signs of sleep deprivation. Although I never detected any of these signs on our times in Hell and Mars despite your lack of sleep. It could be attributed to the lack of Argent Energy in the atmosphere and your enemies. This means your suit can't absorb energy, leaving you fatigued.**"

'_Yes, thank you, VEGA. If only you would leave me alone for five minutes and I'd figure things out on my own_.' I grunted in response.

Well, might as well _try_ to rest in this moment of quiet. I leaned against a pile of sandbags and slid down to the ground. It wasn't too comfortable...but it did feel almost peac-

_*Dink*_

Someone threw a rock at the back of my he-

_**BOOM!**_

It was a grenade. Someone threw a grenade at the back of my helmet.

"HAHA! TIME TO DIE, HUMAAAAAN!"

The green guys were back, I leapt up to my feet and pulled out the heavy assault rifle, after a quick look around I saw my assailant on the church steeple, It was dancing about and chanting.

"BOOMY'S GUNNA KILL YOU! BOOMY'S GUNNA KILL YOU! BOO-ARGKLGE!"

'_You're a little bitch and Boomy is, too_.' I thought to myself as I un-scoped and looked around.

'_Now...where is Boom_-' Stomping, to my left.

I pivoted just in time to see a boulder hurdle towards me. I ducked out of the way just in time as the boulder smashed into a blue cylinder on the street corner behind me. Behind the boulder was….

Well it was bigger than a Deathclaw. A hulking humanoid figure, a gigantic mass of muscle, just a bit smaller than a Baron. It carried a fire hydrant as a club in its right hand. Chains adorned its body, human skulls hanging from them, and it was lumbering in my direction.

Lacerta was nowhere to be found. That was fine, I took out my rocket launcher and equipped the lock-on burst.

**-Target Locked-**

_**Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!**_

It made no attempt to dodge, instead tanking the rockets much like a Baron. Unlike a Baron though, the rockets made large craters in its torso, disrupting the chains and scattering flesh. The giant roared and began to charge with its left arm shielding its upper torso and face.

'_This will be easier._' I took out my chaingun, feeling something akin to glee as I activated the mobile turret function and spun up the barrels. I always listened to the barrels spin up, even in the heat of battle, it's a beautiful prelude to a cacophony of gunfire that I loved to hear.

I pulled the triggers, causing tungsten-tipped .50 caliber bullets erupt from all nine barrels making an excellent '_brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr_' sound that anyone with half a brain cell would know to stay away from. Not this giant though.

Even as the flesh in its arm was torn and blown away, turning what was left into a sparkler as the bullets bounced in every direction inside its body, the giant lumbered on. Even when it could no longer roar because its throat had been torn apart, and it was losing gallons of blood by the second. It got ever closer.

I was forced to backpedal when it got too close, not like I was worried or scared or anything, all things die if you pump enough bullets into them. I remember thinking once. '_The best way to kill something is to shoot at it until it dies._' Over centuries I had refined this down to a science, every demon or anything else in my path fell, as I, th-

_**Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-BOOM**_

The giant's head and upper torso were gone, giblets and blood rained from the sky as a mushroom cloud sprouted from the massive crater in the now dead giant's corpse. I heard shuffling of feet behind me.

"Hi, hello. It uh… it looked like you needed a hand… and I found this…" The woman in the blue jumpsuit from earlier was hefting a massive catapult-like device over her shoulder, made of grates and mesh.

'_Fucker stole m-hooolly SHIT this gun is heavy._' The mobile turret I held in my hands was suddenly unimaginably heavy. I put it away and went back to leaning on some sandbags. The woman just kinda...stood around.

"So, uh… My name's Nora." Nora walked up to me. She had a relatively light build, which made the catapult device all the more disproportionate to her, short black hair, reaching just above her chin. She wore leather armor with bits of studded metal over the blue jumpsuit, not unlike the other humans currently in pieces around the plaza or in Lacerta's stomach.

Speaking of which, he finally decided to come back from wherever he went. He rumbled on into the plaza, and curled up over the carcass of a car next to me. I noticed Nora raise her catapult device with a bewildered and terrified expression on her face, but I put out my hand, as if to say 'stop' and shook my head.

"Alright uh, no need to worry...just some guy's pet Deathclaw...what are you doing here, by the way?" Nora nervously asked.

I shrugged

"Resting?-_yes_-Mind if I join you..? I walked for a really long time to get here." I shrugged again but invited her over.

Nora walked up, setting the catapult down and sitting on the ground next to me. I leaned my head back and stared at the darkening sky.

"**Should we rest here for tonight? It would be an excellent way to regain your strength. I can plot a course for us while you're sleeping, furthermore, I'll wake you if there's any trouble.**" VEGA said into my helmet.

'_Yeah, that's cool, VEGA…_' Soon, I drifted off into unconsciousness for the first time in several millennia. Nora peacefully sleeping next to me, the rumble of Lacerta's breathing creating relaxing white noise.


	7. File Sifting

**A/N | This chapter is paraphrased from the Storyteller S4 E8, please don't sue me, ShoddyCast. Link to the video-**** watch?v=F1uasyFRcUY&t=482s**

* * *

**VEGA-Federal Surveillance Center K-21B**

Getting the bunker in working order had been hard, the Slayer had only stuck around for so long, doing some heavy lifting getting the turrets in place. After he had left I set to work, sifting through files while my robotic body searched through crates of spare parts to fix the computers.

Success had been limited, especially since connection to my new robotic form had periodically cut out at seemingly random intervals. It had been ten minutes and fifty-seven point two seconds since the last cut, the average had been nine minutes and forty-three point six seconds. It had become obvious that this robot belonged to something far more advanced than the rest of the Commonwealth Wastelands when I noticed the heavy encryption and firewalls set up in the robot's backbrain. It was something to rival even the U.A.C. Although the encryption prevented me from interfering with the actual organization it belonged to, they didn't protect the file storage in the robot's backbrain. I found out that it belonged to a group called 'The Institute'.

First, context: The Institute as the Commonwealth knows it today is a direct descendant of the Commonwealth Institute of Technology, one of the finest academic centers in old America, with a major link in militaristic research; including robotics. Even the man who founded RobCo, Robert House, had attended decades before The Great War. Other branches of research included Genetics, Nanotechnology, Electronic Warfare, and more.

During The Great War, CIT escaped destruction when a warhead presumed to be targeting CIT instead landed and detonated in a residential district in Cambridge. Perhaps The Wasteland would have been better for the centuries following if it hadn't been off target. The surviving faculty and students took shelter below Cambridge and the ruins of the campus. Although The Institute as an organization wasn't actually founded until 2110 when the second generation of scientists born underground took control.

At first they had tried to coexist with the wastelanders up above, but mutual distrust had forced them to scrap the project and largely stay underground, keeping contact with the surface to a minimum.

It had crossed my mind how the synths from The Institute got to the surface if there were no entrances or exits until I came across files regarding a molecular transmitter. It was impossible to find a surface entrance because there wasn't one. Following the invention of the transmitter, all entrances were sealed or hidden and The Institute closed from the public for good.

After decades of this isolationist policy, coupled with their advances in synth technology, they got increasingly immoral, treating the surface as nothing more than a giant petri dish or a trashcan to dump experiments into.

This comes to mind when they approved research into the Forced Evolutionary Virus in 2178 in an effort to make superior synths. Instead the project only served to invent an East Coast strain of the Super Mutants found elsewhere in the American wastelands.

The Revenant Program in the U.A.C had come to mind when I found out about their methods of gathering test subjects. First, your common wastelander had been abducted, then subjected to FEV transformation, and once the data was mined and the test had run its course, they were unleashed onto the surface. This callous behavior does make sense from a strategic viewpoint, though. As the super mutant population interfered with the human population, making sure they were distracted, divided, and unable to rise against The Institute.

A particularly large file had told the story of a 'Broken Mask' incident of 2229 at a place called Diamond City. An early third-generation synth went berserk on an infiltration assignment, killing nearly forty civilian wastelanders before finally getting remotely shut down.

Speaking of remotely shut down, my robotic body had gone limp and I was kicked out of it again, this would continue for a few seconds before I regained control. I need to set up some kind of jamming device to block out their signals...

Anyway, the rest of the files were either corrupted, locked, or I had just deemed irrelevant. I had seen enough. Though, the real question was: How would the Slayer take it?

…...

I'll tell him some other time, ease him into the knowledge, and largely let him learn from the locals, he's not an idiot, after all. I just know that he'd want to eradicate the Institute as fast as possible, but we still had things to do and no way of going back to our dimension. I believe their molecular transmitter will help that matter though. So for now the Slayer will have to remain in the dark until I know enough. For now I should get to work on repairing the bunker...and work away at these firewalls.

* * *

**A/N | I wanted to get a quick chapter in before the month's end, and I wanted to say that this has been such a wonderful month (disregarding world events). In just 24 days, this story had already gained so much traction, and I couldn't be happier. Thank you for the follows, the favs, and the reviews. This story has been so much fun to work on! -D3K43**


	8. Two Towers

**Hey, uh. Look I know it's been a while...I really have no valid excuse, just forgive me, please. -D3K43**

* * *

**The Doom Slayer-Natick Banks**

I awoke from sleep for the first time in thousands of years. This wasn't like demon-induced stasis, it was _real_ sleep. However I couldn't help but think that I'd woken prematurely, if it wasn't for my visor's night vision I wouldn't have been able to see as it was dark as fuck. I mean, I _felt_ well-rested, I guess it's possible that I would need less sleep? VEGA was quiet so he certainly didn't wake me...I felt alone.

Sure, Lacerta was still on top of the car, his breathing a low rumble. But I felt alone as a human, Nora must've been off somewhere...I heard glass shatter far to my left, I immediately brought out my combat shotgun and lept to my feet to check out the noise.

Stealth wasn't usually my go-to for encounters, but I didn't know where this thing was, and I was determined not to let it get the drop on me. I saw a tiny bit of movement over by the shoreline. It was a human figure, drinking something out of a bottle and throwing the empty ones back behind them. I put my shotgun away, I didn't want to make them think I was hostile.

As I approached I realized they were Nora. My boot crunched under some glass and she snapped her head towards me with a raised gun in her left hand. She relaxed when she realized it was me, though.

"I'm sorry, I've just been a little jumpy ever since...getting here, and the Nuka Cola isn't really helping…"

I nodded in understanding and plopped down a few feet away from Nora. Thinking for a moment I pointed at her, then pointed at the area around. To punctuate I drew a question mark in the sand, and drew a circle around it, hoping she would understand.

"Oh, uh...what am I doing here..?"

I nodded

"Oh, well I used to come out to the lake as a kid...when times were better, also...I've _never_ seen the stars like this before…" Nora looked up into the sky in awe, I followed her eyes to see-_holy shit..._

Above our heads was a vast nebula of glittering space dust, countless specks of light in an infinite backdrop of the dark void of space. Hell didn't have anything like this, you wouldn't be able to see this on the Mars base due to an artificial atmosphere created by the U.A.C, and when I was in The Glowing Sea the clouds were too thick with fallout to see through at night.

I don't use this word often...but it was beautiful.

It was silent for a few minutes, the only sounds being the wildlife or the occasional far-off gunshot. We both jumped when VEGA decided to make himself known.

"**You're pre-war, aren't you?**" He asked, projecting out of my helmet. Nora tripped over her words a bit before speaking clearly.

"I uh, wha?"

"**Are you familiar with what an AI is?**"

"Uh...yeah, I know what an AI is."

"**Excellent. My name is VEGA, the sentient intelligence assigned to...the U.A.C**" It seems like VEGA doesn't want to disclose our origins yet. "**My sincerest apologies for interrupting, but my curiosity got the better of me. For you see, your DNA structure isn't nearly as damaged by radiation, your skin is smoother and clearer, and you have relatively weaker muscles than previously encountered humans...no offense of course.**"

"I...I'm sorry, but is this _you_ speaking?" Nora pointed to me.

"**No, the Slayer is a separate entity from me, I am merely projecting myself through his suit from my set up in The Glowing Sea.**"

"The..._Slayer_?" Nora asked, bewildered.

I pointed to myself.

"**It is unknown what the Slayer's name is, and if he knows it**-_Nah I forgot it a long time ago-_**then he won't tell anyone what it is.**"

'_Yes, and 'he' is also standing right here. So quit talking about 'him' like he's not._' I grunted in annoyance. I think VEGA noticed.

"**In any case, it is currently 3:34 am. You should be sleeping, Nora.**"

Still in minor shock, Nora simply said. "Uh, yeah...I'm going back to sleep…"

I returned to the sandbags where Lacerta was and sat down again. I saw Nora walk into the apartment I was thrown through. Before she walked into the hole in the wall she looked back towards me and called.

"Hey! Uh...Slayer! There's a mattress in here!"

I put a thumbs up and leaned back.

"Ok...goodnight?" I raised another thumbs up.

Soon, it was quiet again, and I fell asleep once more.

* * *

**Two hours and twenty-six minutes later**

**Doom Slayer-Natick Banks**

VEGA's guess was correct, I did need less sleep. I fell in and out of consciousness in limbo for hours, each time awake and ready for whatever. VEGA still hasn't told me his plan yet, although it didn't matter too much to me, there weren't any demons, so I had no pressing concerns and was just goin' with whatever VEGA cooked up in his robotic brain that he felt important.

So I decided to get up and fuck around for a bit, looting the dead bodies and the surrounding area, killing some crustacean wildlife, and trying out some discarded weapons. Eventually, my wanderings led me to the beach where Nora and I talked in the early morning, I looked around for a minute and found a crate of bottles.

They were rocket-shaped, with a red cap, and a stylized logo on the front 'Nuka Cola'...I wonder if it's related to the Nuka Grenade at all? The liquid inside was pitch black and fizzing ever so slightly, I popped the cap with my thumb and watched the oxygen react with it...what was it called again? When a drink is like this..? Carbonation? How the hell do I remember that but not my own name?

Nora was drinking it earlier so it's probably safe. I looked around, nobody. Although, someone could be watching from far away, I picked up the crate and headed inside a nearby building.

The building was ruined and half-collapsed, but the floor I was standing on could take my weight. I wonder if VEGA's watching..?

Whatever, he's one of the few entities deserving of seeing my face, and he probably already has. I reached for the retention system of my helmet, the thing that keeps it connected to the rest of my Praetor suit and sealed from the outside. The mechanism opened with a slight hiss and came loose from the chest piece.

'_It's been a loooong time…_' It felt weird, having my helmet off, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end when a lukewarm breeze flitted through the destroyed windows and across my face. It was strange seeing things unaided by my visor. I set my helmet on a nearby desk and took a look at the bottle.

'_Fuck it, what's the worst it could do?_' I took a swig.

It wasn't bad, I had no real comparison but it was mostly chemicals with a slight fruity aftertaste, I emptied the bottle in a few seconds, the liquid feeling heavy and out of place in my stomach that's been empty for centuries.

'_Fantastic, that was a huge waste of time._' At least I had time to waste. I walked out of the building and into the ravaged plaza. Everything was quiet, I looked at the building I just came out of, spotting a crumbling wall that led up to the roof.

I ran my hands along the wall, tiny particles of concrete coming back. It was ready to fully collapse. I made my fingers flat and shoved them into the wall, the concrete crumbled around them and allowed my fingers inside, then I placed my boot on a brick that was sticking out and continued this same process to climb up to the roof.

_**Crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch**_

I'm at the top, there isn't much of use up here but it is a good vantage point...more or less. The view was partially obscured by the ruined trees and hills, but I did see an even better vantage point in the towering form of a rusted highway-overpass further north and slightly east. Part of it had collapsed and made a convenient ramp leading all the way up. I looked out onto the desolate town below me where Lacerta already paced around, presumably bored...I think I'm done here.

Lacerta looked up, noticing me standing here overlooking the town. As I observed him, he reared back, then suddenly with an almighty crash he leaped on top of the building with me. After making it up and getting his bearings he looked at me and...bowed? I guess? Like waiting for orders...I shrugged and pointed to the overpass I was looking at. Lacerta's eyes followed my hand and he seemed to...nod...Deathclaws are a lot like humans I guess…

"Hey! Hey what was that noise!?" Both Lacerta and I looked down to see a bedraggled Nora step out of a building waving a pistol around. I waved down at her, then without warning, Lacerta leaped off the building again and in front of her, I figured I might as well follow suit.

"HOly-oh it's just you." Nora sighed heavily in relief.

I simply walked right off the edge, the impact compensation hydraulics in my armor did….well they compensated the impact. Go figure. VEGA finally decided to make himself known.

"**Good Morning everyone, the time is now 6:45 am and I'm afraid that we've spent too long here, we need to move forward, I have a plan.**"

I shrugged, I could probably get up on the overpass on the way, also it isn't exactly a priority so...I don't care very much. Nora just nodded along.

"**Right, so anyway it seems as if my connection from The Glowing Sea is getting weaker the farther The Slayer goes out. Luckily, I've located at least two nearby towers that would boost the signal and help free up space from lesser network traffic. It is imperative we get them online, not just for my sake, but it would also allow municipal radio signals to reach farther. Anyway, the towers in question are the 1DL-109, a military relay tower, and OBB-915, a relay tower of similar purpose. Oh and one more thing, Nora please hold your Pip-Boy close to The Slayer's helmet.**"

"Um...yeah ok." She held it right in front of my faceplate. "Wait why exactly?"

VEGA's voice beeped from her Pip-Boy now. "**So I can do this, it allows me to communicate with both you and The Slayer over long distances, also you both have the option of emitting a distress call to each other, should you need it.**"

'_Yeah as if._'

"Oh, Um, thanks!" Nora shrugged and fiddled with her Pip-Boy.

"**In any case, it's time we get moving, Nora, I recommend you take OBB, are you okay with that?**"

"Um, yeah sure I can bring a tower back online."

"**Great. Slayer, time to move.**"


End file.
